Hip

A hip is the opposite of a valley — where a valley is an internal angle between roof planes, a hip is an external angle. Hip roofs (roofs where all sides slope downward from the ridge) are extremely common in Australian residential construction, often combined with gable sections to create a "hip and gable" roof design. The hip line runs from the end of the ridge down to the corner of the eaves, and must be capped with ridge cap elements to weatherproof this exposed junction. On tile roofs, hip caps are bedded and pointed using the same materials and techniques as ridge caps — polymer-modified mortar for bedding and flexible compound for pointing. On metal roofs, hip caps are formed from matching Colorbond steel and screwed over foam closure strips. The hip line is subject to the same maintenance requirements as the main ridge, and on tile roofs, the hip caps are often the first components to show signs of mortar failure. In Gippsland, hip roofs are favoured for their aerodynamic profile, which provides better wind resistance than gable roofs — an important consideration in the exposed rural areas and elevated townships of the region. Town & Country Roofing re-beds and re-points hip caps as part of every tile roof restoration and ensures hip flashings are correctly installed on metal roof projects.